<< Underground in the H.I.V.E. Prison >>

With an aching head and a fuzzy gaze, Duan Jian lifted his heavy eyes open. He found himself on the moss-covered stone floor of a tiny prison cell. Distorted screams and scratchy voices echoed throughout the area. The air was stuffy and reeked.

Across from his run-down cell, he could see dozens of other prison inmates. Hidden in the dense shadows, they clutched their knees in hunger, waiting for something edible. To Duan Jian's astonishment, every single inmate had ocean-blue hair; no exception.

He moved his attention away and focused back on himself. Even though he showed himself in an arrogant demeanour yesterday, he did it only to impress other people. Being now alone and by himself, he leaned his jade-white back against the cold stonewall and gave a heavy sigh. "At least the wall supports me…"

He pulled his knees up to his head and hugged them tightly, blocking all noises. They were now the only things that gave him warmth in this cold world. With his face buried between his knees, hidden from view, he let loose of his feelings and a lonely tear fought its way down his face.

The silence in this darkness calmed his heart and his breathing got softer.

He snuggled closer to his black trousers and pressed his face tightly on it. Shortly after, he moved his delicate face away from the fluffy cloth and stared at the ceiling, going through his memories.

"*sigh* I'm tired of it all," he muttered under his soft breath.

Shifting his hand towards his head, he ran his rough hand through his snow-white hair, trying to get rid of the rose-red blood in vain. Only a single thought remained in his head: Will I die alone?

"HEY, YOU SAVAGE!!" howled a deafening voice, crushing against his ears. "KEKEKEKEKE~~" a heinous, female laughter scratched at his pain-ridden ears, sending him a shudder down his spine.

Duan Jian raised his voice and screamed back, "Who are you?! No… Where are you?!" But his questions were left unanswered. The devilish voice continued talking, pressing its next words through its gritted teeth, "Oh~, you puny boy~~."

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". . ."

Duan Jian's heart knocked against his rib cage, begging to be let out. A wet and moist breath floated into his ear. In a swift motion, he shot an icicle towards that direction, decimating a part of the wall in the process. But there was no one, not a single living being.

The scratchy voice sounded out again, "So…, you hate being alone? Should I keep you company?" The voice moved closer and whispered, "Let's have some fun~. You and me, just the two of us. Kekeke!"

Duan Jian's eyes contracted, his heart stopped beating, and his breath faded away. Ocean-blue veins popped up at his neck, crawling like earthworms. His icy-blue eyes turned a crimson-red colour and he hissed under his gritted teeth, "How dare you!"

Life faded away from Duan Jian's eyes. His snow-white hair turned ocean-blue in seconds, the bulging veins hid themselves under the skin again, and his now serpentine eyes radiated of pride.

A pugnacious smirk cracked onto his face. Licking his lips, he whispered in a hoarse and flirty voice: "Just lean back and enjoy the ride, little boy~."

With a straight back and his head held high, he walked with wide strides towards the rusty iron bars of the prison cell.

At that moment, a single prison guard walked by this run-down cell. The guard was clad in a damnation-black military outfit. A casket-black military hat sat on his head, accenting his devilish smile and sharp and murderous teeth even more.

Seeing the symbol of a black raven on the guard's hat, Duan Jian couldn't keep calm anymore. His fingers slithered along the rusty iron bars, waiting for its prey to come closer. His breathing got rasher and ragged, not able of hiding his excitement.

"A little bit more~… just a little bit more~," he whispered to himself as if he was trying to calm himself down and be more patient.

His rough hands continued slithering and coiling around the rusty iron bars. The military clad guard marched in lockstep forward; his night-black dog tags were chinking and dinging with each stomp.

Duan Jian swallowed his saliva. When the guard was directly in front of him, he shot his slithering hand forward, his fingers forming into fangs. In a swift motion, he clutched his dog tags and pulled him closer - closer to his doom.

The surprised and soldierly guard couldn't react in time and was smashed face-first into the iron bars. Not waiting for the angered guard to recover, Duan Jian pulled his foot backward like a bow string and shot it between the guard's legs, hitting his only weak spot.

But to his surprise, the guard didn't even twitch a single eye lid. With no other choice left, Duan Jian balled his other hand to a fist. With bones cracking and popping, his fist was shrilling through the heavy air, hitting the forehead of the savage-looking guard.

The soldiery guard screamed and screeched in pain, alarming every guard in the facility. His eyes turned white and he fell unconscious. Not having time to waste, Duan Jian slithered his fingers into the guard's pockets and pulled a golden key out.

Unlocking the rusty gate, Duan Jian pulled the sorry-looking guard into his dark and stench-filled cell. He stripped the guard half-naked and changed clothes with him.

Just as he finished changing, a group of guards arrived in lockstep and in an orderly manner in front of the cell. The leader of the group, wearing purple dog tags, scanned the dog tags around Duan Jian's neck and screamed, "G54, what happened here?!"

Duan Jian straightened himself and made a military salute. "Reporting! LV30C10 was acting out of line and I taught him a lesson."

The group leader responded with a slight nod and continued his patrol.

Duan Jian cracked a smile and sniggered under his teeth. He stepped out of the cell and locked it tight, not sparing the person inside another look.

With his back straight, head held high, and clattering and clanking dog tags, he slandered along the corridor into the boiling darkness of unknown dangers.